According to DXCC Rules, any entity that is a United Nations Member State or has a unique ITU call sign prefix bloc is considered a Political Entity under DXCC Section II, Part 1. The following story excerpted from a story published on Thursday, June 22 on the UN News Centre page (http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=18969&Cr=montenegro&Cr1) indicates that a new DXCC entity may be added to the List in the near future.

The story indicates that the United Nations General Assembly is expected to consider the membership application of The Republic of Montenegro on Wednesday, June 28th. If Montenego's UN membership status is finalized as a result of the June 28th meeting, The Republic of Montenegro will most likely be added to the DXCC List effective 0001Z the next day. The DXCC "Start Date," the earliest date that QSOs will count for the new entity (which is also the "Event Date, the date of the event that gave rise to the addition) will be 0001Z on the day following that on which Montenegro's UN membership is formalized.

If the United Nations formalizes Montenegro's status as a member state prior to action by the International Telecommunications Union giving the new state it's own prefixes, ARRL will accept any prefix deemed legal by the appropriate authorities in The Republic of Montenegro. Activity from the new country is expected to begin immediately. A major DXpedition is planned for July-August. Stay tuned!

"Montenegro gains Security Council endorsement for UN membership

Per Stig Møller, Foreign Minister of Denmark22 June 2006 -- The Security Council today endorsed the newly independent Republic of Montenegro's bid to join the United Nations, bringing the world body one step closer to admitting its 192nd Member. Following discussions yesterday on the country, which held a referendum on 21 May to become independent from Serbia, the Council adopted a formal presidential statement recommending that the General Assembly admit Montenegro. The Assembly is expected to act on the matter next Wednesday."